On the Performativity of Gender: Gender Studies in Post-Soviet Higher Education

In this article I attempt to conceptualize myexistential and institutional experience as thedirector of the Kharkov Center for GenderStudies acquired in the course of introducinggender studies into the system of post-Soviethigher education. The main subject of thearticle concerns the logical ground of genderdiscourse and the complicated relations betweenthe notions of `gender studies', `women'sstudies', and, within the latter, `feminism' inthe former USSR, all in the framework ofconcepts from Western feminists theory.     

Reinventing the University: From Institutions to Communities of Higher Education

This article responds to three questions: What if the primary mission of the university is to (i) nourish the intellect, (ii) commit to the sacredness of all life, and (iii) foster spirituality? Responses examine multiple forms of literacy, instruction that is ecologically valid and thus oriented toward the unity of knowledge, and teaching as a moral activity. The suggestion here is that meaningful reform will emphasize education of the whole person in relation to the physical, symbolic, and social environments. Curricula focused on forms of representation, modes of treatment, and syntactic structure, adaptive understandings, constructed meanings, critical thinking, real problems, connected knowing, creativity, inspiration, service learning, and the development of declarative procedural and poetic knowledge are discussed.     

Individual Differences in Experiences of and Responses to Guilt and Shame: Examining the Lenses of Gender and Gender Role

How are experiences of and reactions to guilt and shame a function of gendered views of the self? Individual differences in guilt and shame responses were explored in a sample of 104 young adults, most of whom were European American. Results indicated that, although women reported greater proneness to guilt and shame, men reported more trait guilt. Heightened levels of guilt- and shame-proneness were observed among both men and women with traditionally feminine gender roles, whereas a more traditionally masculine self-concept was associated with decreased shame-proneness for women. Gender schematic women favored verbal responses to ameliorate the experience of guilt, whereas gender schematic men preferred action-oriented responses. These results are discussed as gendered outcomes of schematic versus aschematic gender role socialization.     

小学高年级学生创造力的发展：性别差异及学校支持的作用

对203名4年级学生进行3年追踪测试(到6年级),采用多水平分析法考察创造力的发展趋势、性别差异以及教师/同伴支持对创造力发展的影响。结果表明:(1) 4～6年级小学生的流畅性呈线性增长趋势,灵活性和独创性呈非线性增长趋势,初始水平与增长速度呈正相关。(2)女生灵活性和独创性的初始水平高于男生。(3)教师支持正向预测男生灵活性的初始水平,正向预测流畅性的初始水平和独创性的增长速度。(4)教师支持的发展正向预测流畅性的发展。     

Gender and contextual differences in social responsibility in Thai schools: a multi-study person versus situation analysis

Social responsibility has been linked to the moral development of students, but little prior research has examined how personal and situational variables influence students’ willingness to show care and concern for social issues that reflect higher levels of moral development. We theorised and tested the hypotheses that females would endorse social responsibility to a greater extent than males, and that school/programme context would moderate this relationship. In Study 1, levels of social responsibility were greater for girls than boys and in academic versus vocational high schools, and school type moderated levels of social responsibility for boys. Study 2 replicated the male–female difference in social responsibility, and demonstrated greater differences in social responsibility across university academic programmes for female than male students. These studies expand the understanding of personal versus situational influences on social responsibility and their implications for moral education in schools.     

Differences Between and Within Genders in Gender Role Orientation According to Age and Level of Education

This study analyses the masculinity and femininity in a Spanish sample made up of 164 adult workers (88 men and 76 women). To be specific, the objective was to demonstrate whether age and level of education were related to differences in masculinity and femininity, both when comparing between the two genders and when the comparisons are made within the same gender. The results indicated that the two variables predicted differences in women, but not in men. There were only differences between genders in masculinity and femininity between the ages of 20 and 39, and when the level of education is low. The results appear to support Hofstede’s hypothesis that there are fewer differences between genders in gender role orientation in feminine countries.     

From Posttrauma to Gender and Back: A Gender Motivation Theory-Explanation of Gender Differences in Trauma Exposure,Symptoms, Diagnosis,and Implications

This article proposes the “gender motivation theory” as a potential starting point for the study of gender differences in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Grounded in evolutionary and sociological theories, the gender motivational theory argues that men are generally motivated by status enhancement, whereas women are motivated by risk reduction. Accordingly, the theory considers these differing motivations as the core factor differentiating men and women in challenging situations regarding their perception, meaning, experience, and behavior. The theory refers to PTSD as a subjectively perceived failure fulfilling gender motives. Applying this theory to trauma victims enables expanding and increasing gender sensibility for an understanding of PTSD and its various consequences. It also allows a broader and deeper understanding of gender beyond normative boundaries. The article examines the validity of the gender motivation theory in view of the cumulative empirical evidence of gender differences in the study of PTSD as well as other fields of knowledge. Additionally, the proposed theory offers a coherent perspective and guidelines for further examination and practical applications in PTSD research.     

Individual Differences in Sensitivity to Disempowering Acts: A Comparison of Gender and Identity-Based Explanations for Perceived Offensiveness

Policy-makers, courts, employers, and individuals must understand perceptual differences among individuals when managing workplace behaviors. Offensive acts that lead to employee disempowerment require particular attention as these behaviors are related to several negative organizational consequences. Women tend to be more sensitive to offensive behavior, but it is unknown whether gender or other factors explain this higher sensitivity. In this study, sensitivity to disempowering acts was assessed by measuring perceived offensiveness reported by male and female observers of videotaped segments of highly confrontive verbal exchanges. Competing hypotheses tested gender and identification with the target of disempowering acts as the underlying reason for women's higher sensitivity. Findings indicated that women reported higher perceived offensiveness regardless of the gender of the target of disempowerment.     

Attitudes to Marriage and Sexual Behaviors: A Survey of Gender and Culture Differences in China and United Kingdom

This paper reports a survey carried out among 505 university students in China and 338 students in the United Kingdom. The survey included questions on attitudes toward mate-selection preferences, marriage, and sexual behavior. The findings show that traditional values in mate-selection preferences persist more in China than in the United Kingdom and indicate that, despite a profound social revolution over the last two decades, a relatively conservative sexual culture still exists in China today. Traditional morality and attitudes prevail especially among women. Gender and culture differences are discussed.     

The Positives and Negatives of Higher Education: How the Religious Context in Adolescence Moderates the Effects of Education on Changes in Religiosity

Although longitudinal research suggests that declines in religiosity associated with higher education vary across religious traditions, it tells us little about variation in the effects of higher education on changes in religiosity more broadly. Higher education may promote increases in religiosity for some, particularly with many Americans now being raised in relatively secular homes. This research note uses multilevel growth curve models and four waves of longitudinal data to examine how the religious context in adolescence moderates the effects of higher education on changes in emerging adult religiosity, regardless of the direction of change. Religious tradition and parent religious service attendance assess the religious context in adolescence, and several religiosity scales and measures of religious behaviors assess dimensions of religiosity. Results show that higher education is particularly likely to lead to religious decline for mainline Protestants and those with religiously active parents, and to increases in religiosity for the religiously unaffiliated and those with parents who infrequently attend religious services. These findings demonstrate how the religious context in adolescence conditions the influence of education, thereby highlighting the variable nature of the influence of higher education on changes in religiosity.     

Direct and Indirect Associations of Empathy,Theory of Mind,and Language with Prosocial Behavior: Gender Differences in Primary School Children

The authors examined the contributions of empathic concern, perspective taking, theory of mind (ToM), and receptive language to prosocial behavior in a sample of primary school children between 8 and 11?years old. Results showed that empathic concern, perspective taking, and ToM had direct positive effects on prosocial behavior. Girls exhibited higher levels of empathic concern and prosocial behavior; furthermore, gender moderated the observed associations, as perspective taking and ToM were positively and significantly associated with prosocial behavior in boys but not in girls. Last, two indirect paths were detected: empathic concern partially mediated the relation between perspective taking and prosocial behavior, and receptive language had an indirect effect on prosocial behavior by increasing ToM ability. Implications for understanding the impact of the four social-cognitive skills on children’s prosocial development are discussed.     

初中生风险决策表现的认知建模分析:自尊及性别的影响

选取山东省某初中308名学生,采用爱荷华博弈任务,使用“效用-固着”模型对决策包含的动机、认知、反应心理过程进行认知建模分析,探究自尊水平和性别对初中生风险决策表现的影响。结果发现,初中生的风险决策表现不佳,对损失不敏感。在控制年级的影响后,分层回归分析表明:(1)自尊水平和性别对决策的动机过程的影响存在交互作用,男生无论自尊高低对收益都较为关注,女生中高自尊者更加关注收益。(2)决策成绩不存在显著的性别差异,但男生更多选择有着较高损失值的不利选项,而女生更多选择损失频率较低的有利选项。(3)自尊的影响主要体现在动机和认知过程,高自尊水平者在动机过程中更多表现出对损失的规避,在认知过程中更多地考虑维持之前的决策选择。     

The Role of Racial Discrimination in the Economic Value of Education Among Urban,Low-Income Latina/o Youth: Ethnic Identity and Gender as Moderators

The present study used resilience theory to explore relationships among perceived racial discrimination, ethnic identity, gender, and economic value of education (EVE) among urban, low‐income, Latina/o youth. It was expected that racial discrimination would predict poorer perceptions of the EVE among Latina/o adolescents. Ethnic identity was hypothesized to buffer the negative effect of racial discrimination on Latina/o students’ EVE. The participants in this study were 396 urban, low‐income Latina/o high school students from a large, Midwestern city who completed surveys in both 9th‐ and 10th‐grade. Structural equation modeling was used to test the relationships among racial discrimination, ethnic identity, and EVE. Results supported a protective model of resilience. Specifically, ethnic identity served as a protective factor by buffering the negative effect of perceived racial discrimination on EVE for male participants. The present study is the first to examine ethnic identity as a buffer of racial discrimination on EVE among Latina/o high school students. Future directions and implications are discussed.